The Righteous One's Death
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I greet you all in the name of our wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ, and do so on a morning of great significance to us as the people of God - the day on which our Saviour was put to death in order to take the punishment for our sin that was due to us.
Please turn to
As we look today at the crucifixion of Christ, we are going to focus in on the short period just before the death of Jesus, and then the responses from those who witnessed His death.
As we look today at the crucifixion of Christ, we are going to focus in on the short period just before the death of Jesus, and then the responses from those who witnessed His death.
But as we do that, we must not forget or lose sight of all that has happened in the buildup to the moments that we will be considering this morning.
Much has already taken place leading up to this great event in this history of mankind.
For the entirety of Christ’s ministry life, he has faced severe opposition and persecution. Very early on the gospel accounts, we find that the religious leaders did not like what Jesus was doing. Christ stood opposed to the man-made religious systems of the Jewish leaders, and uncovered the darkness of the sinful hearts that were covered with a thin veneer of good deeds.
But all of this eventually culminated in the plots to kill this man Jesus. He had performed beautiful and miraculous signs. He had showed care and love and compassion for the weakest and most destitute of all people. He had lived a perfect life of righteous, the only righteous man ever to walk the face of this earth, post the fall of man into sin. But he was hated by the religious leaders. And they, in turn, stirred up the crowds and even turned the crowds against Jesus, prompting the crowds to support a call to put this righteous man to death.
In the buildup then, to this place, there has been much mocking on the part of the people surrounding him. People have hurled their insults at Jesus. He has been spit upon and beaten by soldiers. He has been ridiculed and scorned. He has been scourged with the whip.
The sinless Saviour, who had spent his life serving created beings, was now nailed to a cross. He was scourged and a bloody mess at the time we enter into this story.
And as he hangs there, there is a crowd of people watching on. Most of those people have come, not because they care about Jesus, but because they want to be entertained by the cruel death of this man, and the thieves beside him. No doubt, there was a sense of glee of the crowds as they see him now hanging, apparently helpless, on the cross.
You can almost hear the glee of the crowds as they see him now hanging, apparently helpless, on the cross.
But it’s what happened next that would have shocked the onlookers to the core! These final events as Christ’s life draws to a close in this world, would shake even the scorners.
So as we consider this event as it unfolds, read with me from …
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
From this brief passage, I would like us to consider firstly,
As we look today at the crucifixion of Christ, we are going to focus in on the short period just before the death of Jesus, and then the responses from those who witnessed His death.
But as we do that, we must not forget or lose sight of all that has happened in the buildup to the moments that we will be considering this morning.
1. The Signs Produced by God (vv.44-45)
1. The Signs Produced by God (vv.44-45)
Much has already taken place leading up to this great event in this history of mankind.
There were 2 keys signs accompanying this event of cosmic significance.
There has been much mocking on the part of the people surrounding. People have hurled their insults at Jesus. He has been condemned to die, although he was innocent. He has been spit upon and beaten by soldiers. He has been ridiculed and scorned.
The sinless Saviour, who had spent his life serving created beings, had been dragged to the cross. He was scourged and a bloody mess at the time we enter into this story.
Sinful man had written off Jesus as just another imposter. To them, he was nothing more than a man who stirred up trouble, and who was deservedly sent to the cross, to receive his just punishment for daring to claim to be the Son of God, for daring to call himself a Messiah.
You can almost hear the glee of the crowds as they see him now hanging, apparently helpless, on the cross.
With all of this buildup to the point where Jesus hangs on the cross, surrendering himself to hands sinners, allowing himself to be put to death for the sake even of these very people that would crucify Him, Luke records two of the miraculous signs that God sends.
God would now send
The first is that...
1.1. Darkness came over the land (vv.44-45a)
1.1. Darkness came over the land (vv.44-45a)
Verse 44 tells us:
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
In the time references that Luke was using as he wrote, this would have referred to the time period from about 12 noon until 3pm in the afternoon.
That is a three hour stretch of extensive darkness that came over the entire land.
The question that arises in most people’s minds, is what caused this darkness to come?
There have been many suggestions. Some have thought it to be a serious thunderstorm, where the clouds blackened the sky. Others have suggested that this was a solar eclipse, where the rays for the sun were blocked for a period of time.
The reality is that Scripture is silent on the precise explanation of how this darkness occurred. It simply says “for the sun stopped shining”, or according to the ESV, “the sun’s light failed.”
The fact is, this was an event that was so out of the ordinary that is merited recording by the witnesses there. This was an event of great significance. I don’t believe that this was a natural event. Those who seek to find a scientific or rational explanation for an event such as this, forget that God is the one who commands the elements, and can alter their normal course.
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
Johsua 10 13
9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”
10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”
11 Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
Then we also have the account of Jesus calming the raging storm. Such an event that it caused the disciples who knew Jesus well to fall down in fear before Him!
And so dear friends, here we have an event coming from the hand of God himself! The whole land is darkened before those who are witnessing the death of the righteous one! And this was an event of such magnitude, that it confronted those who stood there, as we will see just further on.
But let us consider, what was the meaning of such darkness coming over the land.
In short, the darkness that descended must be considered to be a demonstration of the judgment of God upon sin. Consider with me some Scriptures that would demonstrate the judgement of God being represented by darkness.
30 In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
he will see darkness and distress;
even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
14 “The great day of the Lord is near—
near and coming quickly.
Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter,
the shouting of the warrior there.
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth.”
In speaking about the judgment of God against false teachers, the Apostle Peter writes...
17 These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
As we look at this event at the cross, in this particular moment in history, the darkest and most severe judgment and wrath of God was bearing down in its full extent upon the the One who had come as the light of the world. In these moments, Christ was being punished because of the sinfulness of man, all the wickedness of man. He was carrying upon him the weight of being found guilty of untold hatred, murder, envy, anger, slander, and every vile act.
In this particular moment in history, the darkest and most severe judgment and wrath of God was bearing down in its full extent upon the the One who had come as the light of the world. In these moments, Christ was being punished because of the sinfulness of man, all the wickedness of man. He was carrying upon him the weight of being found guilty of untold hatred, murder, envy, anger, slander, and every vile act.
The just condemnation against sin was coming upon Christ, not because he was guilty, but because we were guilty.
After this long, 3 hour period of darkness, with all of this terrible sin being counted against the Righteous Saviour, He, in his humility, cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
This darkness was no insignificant event. This is one of the most profound moments in the history of this world. It is one of the most frightening events in the whole of human history. But it should also be one of the most humbling events in history for us as the people of God. What a moment.
Luke then records a second event that unfolded, and that is that...
1.2. The Temple Curtain was Torn (v.45b)
1.2. The Temple Curtain was Torn (v.45b)
We see that recorded for us in verse 45b.
As Luke records this event, it is not done in precise chronological order. Other writers place this event as taking place just after the actual death of Christ. But the significance of this event is what should be noted here, and is what God conveys to us through the record of this event in the Scriptures.
The veil that is spoken of in this text that was torn in two from top to bottom is the veil that separated the Holy Place from the holy of holies in the Tabernacle, and temple. The veil was there as a barrier. The ark of the covenant, which symbolised Israel’s special relationship with God. In , we read....
2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
Lev
And so no person was allowed to go behind the veil. The only exception was for the high priest, and that only once a year, on the day of atonement, in order to make atonement for the people.
And no person was allowed to go behind the veil, except for the high priest, and that only once a year, on the day of atonement, in order to make atonement for the people.
The veil was there because man was not allowed to be in the presence of God due to their sinfulness and God’s pure holiness. In one sense, the veil stood as a visible indication of the barrier that sin created, preventing mankind from entering into the presence of, and engaging in any form of interaction with God.
31 “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Man was separated from God, and there was now (in the Israelite law) a requirement that every year, atonement would need to be made for the sins of all the nation of Israel. This was a perpetual sacrifice, having to be repeated year after year.
But, in this grand event in history at the death of Jesus Christ, this heavy, thick veil, the great barrier of separation, was once and for all opened torn apart. The significance was that through Jesus Christ, all people, whether Jew or Gentile, would be able to approach God. Jesus Christ was the full and final sacrifice that was made for the gross sin that separated mankind from God. The perfect Saviour, the perfect sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ, died. His life was ended, his blood was shed.
The clearest place that this is outlined for us in the Scriptures is in the book of Hebrews.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
The perfect sacrifice, the body of our Saviour, His death on the cross, removed the barrier. It is now no longer through a curtain that one man would enter into the presence of God. Rather, now all people have been granted this profound privilege of approaching the Almighty, most holy God through Jesus Christ!
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
Christ’s body was that which replaced the curtain. It is now no longer through a curtain that one man would enter into the presence of God, but rather, now all people have been granted this profound privilege of entering the presence of God through Jesus Christ!
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Christ’s body was that which replaced the curtain. It is now no longer through a curtain that one man would enter into the presence of God, but rather, now all people have been granted this profound privilege of entering the presence of God through Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 1019-21
What a great privilege and honour has been opened up to the believer, that we may approach the almighty God with full confidence because of the shedding of the Saviour’s blood for us!
What a great and profound miracle unfolded in the rending of the curtain on that day.
Not only was there great darkness that came over the land, as the judgment of God was brought down upon the sinfulness of man, but poured out on Christ, but this led to great privileges for those who would believe in and trust in Him, with the curtain being torn, and a new covenant age being brought in.
2. The Cry Offered Up To God (v.46)
2. The Cry Offered Up To God (v.46)
The second thing that we note from our brief passage this morning is the cry offered up to God, in verse 46.
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
By this time, Christ had endured not only the tormenting and the mockery and hatred of man, as the soldiers and the crowds had hurled their abuses at him, but he’s even experienced this sense of forsaking by God as the wrath of God for the sin of the world weighs upon him.
Jesus cried out to God. It was a cry of trust in the Father
But in this closing moment of his life, as Luke records it, we see a beautiful picture of Christ’s continued trust in the Father, and reliance upon Him. Jesus quotes here from , which in its fullness reads...
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.
The fact that Christ says “into your hands I commit my spirit” demonstrates Christ’s deep trust in the Father. Even in His death, even in the face of the wrath of Almighty God coming upon Him, He was at one with the Father. Christ had said in the garden of Gethsemane, “not my will, but yours be done.” Nothing had changed. Christ’s determination to continue in obedience to the will of the Father remained unwavering, and His absolute trust in the Father remained unwavering.
William Barclay writes these words in commenting here (referring to the quote by Jesus of Psalm 31:5):
The Gospel of Luke The Long Day Closes (Luke 23:44–9)
That verse was the prayer every Jewish mother taught her child to say last thing at night. Just as we were taught, maybe, to say, ‘This night I lay me down to sleep,’ so the Jewish mother taught her child to say, before the threatening dark came down, ‘Into thy hands I commit my spirit.’ Jesus made it even more lovely for he began it with the word Father. Even on a cross Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his father’s arms.
A key difference between Christ’s quote of , and the verse itself, is that he omits the words “redeem me.” Indeed, Christ needed no redemption. Instead, He was the one dying as the ultimate redeemer for the sins of all who would trust in Him.
Having cried out these words of deep trust in the Father, Jesus breathed His last breath, and passed away.
3. The Responses of the People Before God (vv.47-49)
3. The Responses of the People Before God (vv.47-49)
With that having taken place, we can now note the responses of those who were witnesses to these profound events in the course of time.
There are three different responses recorded for us by Luke, and I’d like to consider each of these responses just briefly.
3.1. The Centurion (v.47)
3.1. The Centurion (v.47)
3.1. The Centurion (v.47)
3.1. The Centurion (v.47)
Firstly, we have the response of the Centurion. In verse 47 we read:
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Before we comment on his actual words, we need to consider that this Centurion was a Roman official, and was not a man who held the Jewish religion, or the Lord Jesus, in high regard.
Here was a man who had been tasked with overseeing and ensuring the death of the man Jesus, because the Jewish leaders didn’t like him, and were trying to get him out of their way, since they saw him as a trouble maker.
But what the Centurion had seen through all of the events that had just preceded, including the mockery and beating of Jesus, was His response to all of the insults and abuse. At some point along the way, God had opened the eyes of this Roman official to see that here was a man that was unique. Here was a man who was not responding as would be expected. Here was a man that certainly did not deserve what he was enduring. But here was a man who extended kindness, and showed love and compassion, even on the cross.
The Centurion was a witness to the discussions between Jesus and the thief that hung next to Him, and the way in which Jesus had assured the thief that this very day, he would be with him in paradise.
But further to this, the Centurion had also been witness to the darkness that had descended over the entire land.
By this time, through the working of God, this Centurion was faced with a deep conviction about the nature of this man who was hanging on the cross. And this conviction led the Centurion to praise and worship of God.
Now let us be clear, this worship of God, and the words that he spoke here “surely this was a righteous man,” were occasioned by a sense of great awe and fear of God.
In , we read:
54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Suddenly, the full weight of who Jesus was, not only that he was righteous, but also that he was who had claimed to be - the very Son of God - came crashing down on these men, and they were in essence undone.
Picture, dear friends, the weight of guilt that began to weigh down on this man, who, after playing his own part in the killing of Jesus, suddenly had to acknowledge that he had been involved in the killing of the very Son of God.
But do you not realise that this must be the response of every single person who is confronted with who Jesus truly is.
Do you realise that you also were responsible for the hanging of this righteous man, Jesus, on the cross. You may not have physically driven the nails into his hands. You may not have stood physically at the side of the cross, shouting, jeering, mocking, scorning…
But friends, each and every one of us was the cause of Christ needing to actually endure this suffering.
When we come to a recognition of who Christ was - a righteous man, and the very Son of God, the one who was pre-existent in the heavens, and the one by whom and through whom all things were created - and we then come to a recognition of the work that he did for us, and the part that we played in having him hang on that tree, it should drive us also to worship God, to bow the knee in praise and adoration of the heavenly Father.
The very fact that Christ would be prepared to endure all that he did, for our sakes, is a profound and beautiful truth.
3.2. The Crowds (v.48)
3.2. The Crowds (v.48)
But next, notice the response of the crowds:
48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
People had gathered from all over, merely to watch the death of men for their own entertainment purposes. This was a most vile and cruel way of a person being put to death, and was reserved for the worst of sinners. Those who gathered to watch such scenes were not gathering for sympathy purposes. They were gathering for the purpose of humiliating and watching, adding to the great humiliation of the person hanging on the cross.
And so these are the people who had gathered to witness this sight. But as they witness all of the events that unfolded before them, and as they themselves witnessed the darkness over the land, and even as Christ passed, in other synoptic gospels, we read of the violent shaking of the earth and the tombs breaking open. As they witness all of these events, they too were shaken.
Notice the wording: “When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place...”
What they saw confronted them!! We read in this verse that they beat their breasts.
Perhaps to us that is a strange picture. What did it mean? In that day, it was a demonstration of grief and of conviction of sin.
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Luke 18:
A true understanding of the nature of Jesus, the work that He came to do, His perfect righteousness, and the fact that he bore the weight of our sin, must lead a person to experience that deep conviction of their own sin. The crowds were rightfully filled with woe. They rightfully were convicted of sin.
Very likely, this was frightening sight, these cosmic events were those events that initiated within them a deep sense of conviction that eventually led them to their response to Christ upon the preaching of the Gospel:
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
I would ask: have you been confronted with your own guilt before our holy God? Have you come to recognise that Jesus Christ died in order to pay for the punishment of sins committed? And have you been cut to the heart, and turned to Christ, repenting of your own sin, and trusting in Him for forgiveness? This must be our response in light of the great work that was done.
3.3. The Friends (v.49)
3.3. The Friends (v.49)
Finally and briefly, we have the response of the friends of Jesus.
49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
These friends were no doubt afraid to come too close at this particular interval. There were men and women. Of particular note were the women. Included in this group was Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary’s sister Salome, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. Probably also a lady by the name of Joanna.
These were those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Or at the very least, they had believed that he was the Messiah. Right now, their faith would have been shaken. But what is important for us to recognise, particularly as we look towards Sunday, is that these women were eye-witnesses of Jesus dying.
There was no doubt in their own minds that Jesus’ life had been taken, and that He was no more. They too, saw the signs that God had provided. They too would have wondered at the death of this righteous man. But one thing that they did testify, was that Jesus certainly died.
Other religions attempt to make out as if the death of Jesus didn’t really happen. They attempt to make out that this was merely a made-up story. This was no made-up story. Christ died for.
Because of that, He certainly was the perfect sacrifice for sin.
Application and Conclusion
Application and Conclusion
As we close, it is easy for us to minimize and play down the significance of the cross, whether we intend to or not. It becomes just another event that we celebrate. On this day, I encourage you to truly sit quietly and ponder the profound significance of this event. Enter into a time of prayer, thanking God for all that unfolded at the cross. Thank God for that perfect sacrifice. Pray that your eyes would be all the more opened to the significance of Christ’s death for you, and for the church.
This sacrifice was costly. It was severe. It was a brutal death. It came in the face of much persecution, hatred, suffering and pain. Ultimately, the greatest horror, if you like, was that a sinless man should take upon himself the payment for your sins, for my sins. The only fitting response to that is worship. Not a moment of worship now, but a life of worship, now, in every day in this life that lies ahead, and then into all of eternity.
This is the fitting response. This is our great Saviour that we worship. May we worship Him. May we flee from sin. May we thank Him for His wonderful grace in Christ.
Amen.
